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The Wrath of the Rutans/Text
= Day Twenty-Four = It was a relatively quiet day on the Tellurian Observation Station 2686 as it silently orbits the planet Trog, which like most planets has a fairly diverse range of ecosystems because why wouldn't it. There was no-one scheduled to dock there today, which is why there's some confusion surrounding what appears to be an incoming ship, which a moment ago was approaching the station but now appears content to remain about four feet away and hover ominously. Transmitter contact had been attempted but no messages have been responded to. Young birdoform Alkonist Zinnia tried to ignore the ominous ship and focus on her duties on the station. She tried to focus on the datastream that the station's sensors were putting out but her attention kept drifting. With a sign of resignation she switched her station over to external cameras and looked at the ship. "Don't see any recognizable markings," she muttered to herself. "Might be exciting if it were an undiscovered alien species. 'Oh yeah I was there when we first broke bread, supped soup, whatever with the...uh...Chumblies. First contact, yup. I was there for that.'" The ship was orb-shaped, with a bright yellow surface and pulsating orange...rivers? Impossible as it seemed, there was molten liquid running through veins across the surface of the ship, but that was scarcely noticeable. See, the first thing people were liable to notice about the ship was the fact that it appeared to be ON FIRE, despite the vacuum of space. This fuss served to completely distract everyone from the materialization of an anachronism ostensibly resembling an artifact from an unremarkably remarkable planet's regional constabulary, not that anyone tended to notice it anyway. The occupant of this craft was decidedly not constabulary, but currently in a disposition to check the scanner and note the surroundings before exiting, which was for him, also remarkably unremarkable. The TARDIS had managed to materialize right beside Zinnia's workstation. "Waaa!" Zinnia scrabbled out of her chair, flailing in alarm. She looked around, wondering if this was some kind of prank. Some kind of weird prank. There were a lot of species on the station. Some of them might have inscrutable senses of humor. Zinnia walked around the blue box looking at it from multiple angles. There seemed to be a door. "Hello?" The door opened. "Ah. Hello, I'm the Doctor and--what is that on your monitor?" "Oh, uh, hello. Its a--how'd you get here anyway?" Zinnia said, confused. "In my box. I thought that was obvious. Is that anaerobic combustion going on outside?" the Doctor said. Zinnia frowned at the answer but decided not to press. "Yes, that spaceship does appear to be on fire in space." * * * Graves stood outside the entrance to the docking bay, noting the irregularity. He sighed to himself. "Another day's gonna go completely south." Peering through the nearest viewport at the incoming ship, Graves calmly reached for the nearest communication device and turned it on. "Not to put a damper on anyone's day here, but this is Officer Graves reporting an emergency at my station," Graves announced. The communicator fizzled to life and a part of conversation came through. "—I still say we should try to put it out. It's clearly fire, whoever's inside might be in danger," said one officer. "Or it could be part of their atmosphere, something they need to survive. Trying to 'save' them could be interpreted as a hosti—Graves? What're you doing on this channel?" "The ship that looks like it's on fire? It's pulling in where I'm at," Graves responded. The second voice was the ship's commanding officer, Robert Bromly, and he didn't sound happy. "Might want to double-check that, Graves, my screen's showing it's maintaining its distance." A brief silence, and then—"Dammit, my monitor froze. You're right. We're still determining how to handle this, hold your panic for now." "Holding, sir," Graves snarked. "Good then. Now get off this channel, return to duty. Over." Graves closed the channel and started backing away from the door. Best to maintain a safe distance. Probably 30 feet would do. 50? Maybe too much? He couldn't be bothered to care. Graves continued watching the door from a safe distance. He wasn't sure whether or not it was him, but he felt as if it was getting hotter. "I swear I wasn't supposed to be here today..." Suddenly, the viewport Graves had been using gave off a brief flash of light, as did every window in the station. Monitors went a bit wibbly. And a light mist began to waft through the vent. Graves would find the hot feeling dissipating. The ship was still out there, but once again stationary. If it had caused this, there was no way to tell from its surface. * * * "Well what are you people doing setting the vacuum on fire for?" the Doctor asked. Zinnia saw the monitor go wibble and messed with the settings to try to stabilize it. "I... don't think we did? This is just an observation station. If there are any experiments in airless combustion, I haven't heard of them. That--whatever it is, it showed up a short while ago and has just been hanging around outside. Where have you been that you don't know? Its been kind of a popular topic." The monitor returned to normal with minimal fuss. "Inspecting. Things. That needed inspecting," the Doctor answered. * * * "Attention on all frequencies! The flaming ship has been deemed a matter of concern only for the highest-ranked officers aboard," the intercom boomed. The voice was that of Terrance Russel, second-in-command. "All other officers are ordered to return to their posts and preform other duties. And civilians aboard, please stop inquiries for the time being. We promise you will all be informed in due time. Over." "Oh terrific...I'm expected to just stand here and watch the door with the big flaming spaceball," said Graves. "Not necessarily," said a voice from behind him. It was a Silurian woman, looking a bit greener than usual. A station namebadge identified her as Stoda. "Hi there. I'm your relief officer. There was a bit of last-minute rescheduling with the lunch breaks, you're free to go for the time being." Graves let out a sigh of relief. "I am relieved. I'll be in touch if needed." "Yeah, be sure to keep your com on," the woman said, and reached out to shake his hand. "By the way, I don't think we've met. You new around here?" "Sort of." He shook Stoda's hand. "UNIT somehow thought I'd be a perfect fit to come here." "Ah. I know the feeling. My government sent me here as a sort of liaison, but I'm not much of a people-person, so..." She grasped his hand firmly with both hands, and Graves would begin to feel as though he'd stuck his finger in an electric socket, though his body appeared perfectly calm. "Graves. Energetic, I take it?" "You have no idea," she said. The feeling intensified, and became accompanied by an intense heat, though his body refused to sweat or shake in accordance to the damage his innards were being done. Okay," he politely broke off the handshake and a slight strain in his voice made itself known. "Think I'm going to have that lunch I missed. Take care, er....Stoda." "Hang on a sec," she said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "What's wrong? Something I said?" The feeling returned in full force, and Grave's body would begin to weaken. "Nnnngh, please stop thaaaaaat." "Stop what? You alright? I can accompany you to the med-office, if you want." Her grip got firmer, and though Grave's vision was going blurry he could swear her face was beginning to shift. "Let... me... go... please..." Graves' left hand drifted down to his personal communicator. Specifically, the emergency button on its back. Which he pressed. Graves' legs would begin to give out as his vision faded, every muscle, every sense being overwhelmed by the heat and the energy. If he didn't break away soon... The com burst to life. "This is security officer Karne, please state the nature of your emergancy. If you cannot speak please press the button again." He pressed it again, struggling to keep breathing. Stoda let out a gasp and allowed Graves to fall to the floor as a couple of security officers arrived. "I don't know what happened, he started babbling about me touching him and then passed out. I think he needs medical attention." One of the security officers called for a stretcher. Slowly, Graves would begin to feel normal again. As he started being able to breathe easier, Graves tried to utter a word. "Eee... eee... mer... gency..." "We're aware, officer Graves. We're taking you to medical as soon as the stretcher gets here. Please don't try to stand," one of the security officers said. "S... Ssstoo... daaa..." Graves muttered. "Yes, she told us what happened. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." Two officers arrived with a stretcher, and the security personal carefully rolled it onto him before he got carried off. "Yes, she told us what happened. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." Two officers arrived with a stretcher, and the security personal carefully rolled it onto him before he got carried off. "No...she...did it..." With that, he felt himself start to become weary from recovery. "Certainly we're going to look into the possibility," said the security officer walking by him, "but with no weapons it's doubtful." "She touched...it burned...Uuuuugh..." Graves tried reaching up with his left hand, slowly. "Unlikely. A Silurian, of all species, could never produce the kind of heat necessary to do this to anyone. Try to rest, officer. Leave the medicine to the professionals," said the security officer. * * * A tall, dark-skinned human woman made her way through the crowd of people fascinated by the flaming ship. Occasionally, she would "accidentally" bump into someone. Later they would find one or two things in their pockets mysteriously missing... Genie grumbled as the crowd watching the flaming space-orb out the windows dissipated. "Well, now what am I going to do?" She sighed and made her way back to where she had parked her ship. A tall, pale man wearing a very expensive suit wandered by her. He looked a bit ill, and had left the flaps of his jacket pockets open. Something in them glittered. Genie let her eyes follow the man. And then the rest of her, as well. Trailing behind him, she watched to see how aware he was of his surroundings. The rich man, meanwhile, gave her little notice, instead pulling what seemed to be a neverending supply of hankies out of his pocket for an eternally stuffy nose. His snot appeared almost...florescent. Genie gagged a bit in the back of her throat at the sight, but continued following. Once she got close enough to the man, she crouched down and reached for a pocket that wasn't full of hankies. Her attempt at pickpocketing was immediately met by a firm grasp on her wrist, far firmer than a man of his age and figure should be able to manage. She'd begin to feel an electrical current pulse through her. "I'm sorry, can I help you?" the man asked. Genie beamed a pure white smile at the man. "No, sir just...uh...trying to give you a helping hand. I understand why you would think I was, y'know..." she felt the false smile begin to falter as she waited for the man to release his hold. "Nice try. I think you and I need to take a trip to the security office." The electrical impulses got stronger, and Genie would begin to feel an immense heat. Genie tried to break the man's grip "Oy! What do you think you're doing? I told you, I wasn't doing nothing! Why are you so...warm and tingly... I think I...need a doctor..." He smirked. "You might, yes. But first, security. Please, come along." He stifled another sneeze. Genie fought the urge to slip into unconsciousness and kept trying to pry the man's fingers apart, despite being unable to feel her own. Each touch just made the burning sensation that much stronger, and the man began to drag her away, towards security. "Not getting away that...ah...that...no...god...tha--" And with that the man sneezed so hard he became a pile of green goop and exploded in two different directions. Genie stopped on the spot, and stared, wide-eyed, forward. She felt the urge to scream at the top of her lungs, but instead decided to simply try to rub the sweat off of her body. At least it was only the first time a man had exploded green goop all over her. A harsh, tinny voice emanated from one of the blobs as they squirmed about and attempted to reconstitute. "I told them...I needed maturity leave...why didn't they...why didn't they listen...you...don't go anywhere...need to be dealt with..." Genie started to regain some of her senses, and examined the gooey remains of the man, all over the walls and floors. "So... uh... yeah... I'll be going now." She moved to walk towards the nearest medical clinic, just in case. The green goop began to ooze back towards Genie, suddenly beginning to take on shape, resembling an especially round jellyfish. "No...can't leave...must...come back..." Genie rolled her eyes and kept walking, fanning herself with a few bills of ambiguous unidentified money. "Sorry, Goopy McShockfingers, I don't have time." "I think you do." The two new jellyfish hovered in front of her face and behind her head, both extending all their tentacles towards her scalp. "Gah!" Genie ducked under the jellyfishes' grasp and tried to dart away. The jellyfish, meanwhile, disappeared into a nearby vent, deciding not to pursue. Genie threw the largest object she could find in her pockets--a small elephant statuette--at the thing and kept running. It missed entirely, as the jellyfish were no longer following her. * * * "So if you didn't know about the firesphere, what were you inspecting here?" Zinnia asked. "I was very busy with the things on my list that preceded 'flaming nothingness', but now I'm giving it my full attention," the Doctor said. The Doctor waved a sonic device over Zinnia's terminal, which he seemed to expect to do something. "And I expect you're curious about it too, so let's find out. What's your name by the way? You're an Alkonist, correct?" The Doctor seemed to only just then notice she had a non-humanoid figure. "Fairly rabidly, yes. And Alkonist, yes." The sonic would relay to the Doctor that the footage on the monitor was not in fact coming from the stations' external monitors but was a pre-recorded feed. "You know what I'm fond of? Answers that lead to more questions. This is a recording. Somebody is hiding what's really happening. Let's see if we can get the live feed back." "So, wait, there's an unidentified impossible spacecraft outside but we've just been watching a recording?" Zinnia shook her head. "So someone wanted the station to know there was a spacecraft but not know what it was doing?" "Or there was a spaceship and somebody's covering up what they did to it. Now, what would be so secret that letting us see it continue to burn would be preferable?" The Doctor got on with more sonic waving. The screen flickered and flashed for a moment, and the ship loomed, larger than life, on the verge of hitting the camera that was relaying the footage. The ship was not only right on top of them, but far, FAR, larger than anticipated. At that moment, a figure appeared behind the Doctor and Zinnia, an Alpha Centari. "Officer Zinnia! There has been a schedule reshuffling, I am here to relieve you." It turned its bulbous head towards the Doctor. "You are not on the crew roster! Who're you?" "I'm the Doctor, I'm inspecting important things, and did you know that ship is bigger than they're letting on?" the Doctor said. "Oh my!" it said, looking at the screen. "I'm sure the senior officers have everything under control. They did tell us not to worry about it." "They're using...perspective tricks? How do you mean bigger? Hard to judge scale in space." Zinnia said. "Bigger, closer, current sensor data would be helpful. But hang on, didn't catch why there was a schedule change?" the Doctor asked. "Not a schedule change. Misprint, or somesuch. Anyway I've been instructed to relieve you. Both of you. Please, come along." It extended a couple of arms towards each of them. "Wait, how were you instructed to relieve him when you didn't even know who he was?" Subconsciously, Zinnia edged away. "Anyone working at this station has been relieved of duty. I'm sure the commanding officers know who he is." It moved ever closer towards them, nubby little arms still outstretched. "Okay, the workplace isn't usually this weird or grabby," Zinnia said to the Doctor. "This is unusual." The Alpha Centari's arms began to extend towards her--literally extend, as they lengthened far beyond what they should be able to do. Zinnia recoiled from the Alpha Centari and put as much distance between her and it as she could. "What is wrong with you?" The Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver defensively, which is not how most people use screwdrivers. Perhaps one day the assailant might fall apart like a cabinet assembled in reverse, but it seemed unlikely. Indeed, waving the sonic about did nothing, and the Alpha Centauri grabbed Zinnia by what little she had in the way of shoulders. She'd begin to feel an electrical tingling sensation. She cried out in alarm. The tingling intesified, and she began to feel a great deal of heat. "W-what are you doing to me?!" Zinnia cried. "Just trying to help you on your way," said the Alpha Centauri as it began to drag her away from her post. "Hold on now, no need to be rough." The Doctor grabbed the Alpha Centauri's arm, pulling it off of her. He'd begin to feel the electric tingling as well, as well as the heat--possibly not as strongly, however, due to his unique physiology. The Doctor gritted his teeth. "Urgh... You've got a bite to you, haven't you?" "I don't know what you're talking about," said the Alpha Centauri. Zinnia grabbed a thick bound wad of data readouts and hucked it at the Alpha Centauri. "Hands off!" Fortunately, it hit the Alpha Centari right in the eye, causing it to recoil and...kinda...melt a bit, oddly, but it quickly reconstituted itself. It began to extend its arms further, even longer than before, holding on tight to both the Doctor and Zinnia by the neck. "If this is about goofing off instead of watching the data stream, I'll take a pay cut," Zinnia offered hopefully. Of course, as it held them, the electricity and the heat both returned. * * * Genie ran through the station's corridors, looking back over her shoulder for the strange jellyfish creature every few seconds. They were continuing not to follow her, though as she got closer to the center of the station she'd hear someone yell "hands off!" from a nearby office. This had somehow utterly failed to get anyone else's attention. She attempted to find her way back to her ship and hightail it off of this useless station, but instead conveniently ended up at Zinnia's workstation. Seeing the... strange altercation going on, she attempted to sneak past. The Alpha Centari failed to take any notice of her. "Sorry, not so much a bite as a... burn? Sting? Sting! Stinging arms.... ah! Normally I love a good jelly, but... sorry, being grabbed by the throat by an attacker isn't the best time to have a gobby past life flash before your eyes..." the Doctor scanned the room for anything that might be a strong heat source. There isn't much--Zinnia's computer could be overheating, one supposes. Or one could hypothetically light some of her documents on fire. "Is this the time to be babbling?" Zinnia asked desperately. "Helps more than you'd think. But all this hot air won't be enough to melt the situation," said the Doctor. Genie began to feel pangs of guilt as she neared the end of the room. She looked over to the strange man and bird. She sighed and started searching for something heavy to hit the creature with. There wasn't exactly just heavy things lying around the hallway. If she's in the room, however--well, there are plenty of weighty components to desktop computers. * * * Graves would wake up in the med office on a bed, feeling quite a bit better now if not entirely recovered. But for him, he would find the med office entirely empty. "Uuuuuuuuuugh... Where is she?" Graves asked no one. Graves quickly got on his feet and turned on his communicator. "Emergency! Strange creature aboard! Don't come in physical contact! Danger!" "Graves, get off the com. You should be resting," came Commander Bromly's voice through the com. "Forget that! The thing that got me is still here! Whatever it is, it was impersonating a Silurian!" Graves quickly looked around for his emergency sidearm. "Graves, nothing got you. You had a fever. Now calm down and get some sleep," Bromly said. "Look, I was perfectly fine until I got touched by whatever that thing was! If I hadn't pushed the damn button, it would've killed me!" Graves left the room, still looking about. No one seems to be paying him much mind, nor is anyone milling about in the halls. Everyone looks distracted, busy. "Sometimes these things can hit rather quickly. We looked over Stoda, she's perfectly normal," Bromly informed him. "Right. Going back to work now. Have my bearings back fully." He switched off his communicator and muttered to himself as he looked about. "Never even bothered touching her, did you all?" His com hummed to life again. "Affirmative, Graves. Please report to my office first, however. I'm putting you on special assignment. Over." "Special assignment? Yeah right..." Graves started rushing over to the security offices. Along the way to security, Graves overheared some commotion in a nearby office. He quickly opened the door, weapon at the ready. As Graves entered, Genie grabs a large computer component and smashes the Alpha Centauri over the head with it. The Alpha Centari falls forward, hitting the floor with a lout thunk. "Huh. That worked," Genie remarked. The Doctor collapses, gasping from the exertion of talking so lucidly while being throttled. "Well then...did that thing try to fry you, too?" Graves asked. "We need to move. It'll re-form and be even badder," said the Doctor. "What is this thing? Something similar attacked me earlier..." Genie asked. "Me too. I think they might be shapeshifters," said Graves. "A Rutan. Infinitely adaptable, highly invulnerable. Unless you've got a way to torch it, we should be running," said the Doctor. "Oh terrific. Me without a flamethrower," Graves said as he rolled his eyes. The Doctor bundled them all toward the door, pointing the screwdriver at the TARDIS. It dematerialized, half a second out of sync with reality. He then closed the door and appraised it for some way to lock or jam it. "So! You all new here, too?" Graves asked. Zinnia stopped running away and ran in place, unwilling to stop moving. "The hinges! There's a design flaw, if you jam a pen into them they stop working." "Oh!" Genie pulled a pen out of one of her many jacket pockets and handed it to the Doctor "Here!" The Doctor produced eight random objects from his pockets before being handed a pen, which he stuffed into the hinge before turning to flee with the rest. "Blimey. And I thought I was bad about keeping junk," said Genie. "So, uh, the spaceship and now this. This is an invasion, right?" Zinnia asked. "If they were here to sell cookies, they would have asked by now," the Doctor said. "They both seem to have a thing for fire, so my guess is yes. Why are they invading here, though? There's nothing on this station. I should know," said Genie. "I wouldn't be able to tell you guys, either. I just got here yesterday," said Graves. "They tried calling me in for a 'special assignment' after I woke back up from my attack. I think this place might be greatly infested." = Day Twenty-Five = There was a wheezing, groaning sound. "Oh what is that now?" Graves looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. "Oi, not now! I haven't called yet," said the Doctor. A woman with red hair appeared in front of where Zinnia was running, fading in and out. Finally materialized, Sophie looked around to see what was going on. "Excuse me, is there a mister 'Pegrum' nearby? I have a special delivery for him from House Paradox." Sophie opened her mouth, and removed a simple brown package significantly larger than her head. All Graves could do was stand and stare at what was going on. "Anyone know what to think of this?" Sophie turned to address the security officer "Are you Pegrum?" "Uh, no. I'm Graves." Sophie looked at Graves hopefully. "Can you tell me where I can find a Mr. Pegrum?" Genie glanced back behind her to make sure there were still no jellyfish or strange phallic aliens following. There were not, for the moment. "So, uh... what's in the box?" Sophie turned to Genie. "I'm not sure. House Paradox entrusted this package to me, to deliver to Mr. Pegrum." Sophie frowned. "Or perhaps Ms. Pegrum. Or Mrs." "Afraid not. You caught us at a bad time, what with weird jelly alien things trying to take the place over," said Graves. "Also, I sensed a Time Travel Capsule nearby, but it went to hide in an alternative time-frame," Sophie said. "Ah, that's my capsule. Or I'm her pilot. Had to park away because we're in a spot of trouble right now. You're...using your chameleon circuit to project a humanoid shell, aren't you?" "Ah, that's my capsule. Or I'm her pilot. Had to park away because we're in a spot of trouble right now. You're... low 100s?" the Doctor asked. Sophie looked down at herself. "Well, yes. I'm a Type 103." "Do I even wanna know what a Type is, or how you pulled a box out of your...mouth?" Graves asked. Sophie sighed, clearly not enthusiastic about the introductions. "I am a Type 103 Time Travel Capsule, or TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension in Space. Unlike any of the earlier and some of the later models, I have a humanoid intelligence, and capacity to communicate with the lower orders. Like all Time Capsules, I am dimensionally transcendental." "Like my blue box, only when she talks, you can understand her," the Doctor said. Sophie paused. "Blue Box?" Sophie grinned from ear to ear, and got right next to the Doctor. "Is grandma here?! I've always wanted to meet her!" "By the way the things that are trying to kill us are Rutans, normally jellyfish but could look like anybody, and they don't like extreme heat," the Doctor said. "Oh dear... Between you two and the jelly invasion, I feel like I'd rather be dealing with giant ants again," said Graves. "That can be arranged," said a tinny voice from above, and the Rutan above them slowly began to transform into, yes, a giant ant, landing with a thud on all sixes between the Doctor and company and Sophie. "Oh great! Just great!" Genie sighed and rubbed her temples. "Objection! At that height, your own weight would reduce you to pudding! Not to mention the difficulty in breathing when you have to do it through torso holes!" Zinnia waited. "Nothing? Shapeshifters just aren't fair..." "Normally I need to try for a specific form, but hell, I know what an ant looks like," it entoned. It turned to Zinnia. "Yes, yes, you're very bright. Shut up." Graves whipped out his emergency weapon and fired upon the Rutan, hoping to weaken it again. "If you're going to kill me, I don't see why I need to be polite while you do it," said Zinnia. "We need to get going! Now!" Graves exclaimed. Long, green tentacles began to erupt from its back, flying wildly towards the five of them. The weapon hit a front leg, bringing its front end to the ground, but that didn't seem to be stopping it any. Sophie let go of the Doctor, and turned to face the ant, changing her height until she was at eye level with the creature. She picked up the package and pulled out a clipboard. "Excuse me, are you Pegrum?" "She can't be serious," said Graves. The ant cocked the eyebrow it shouldn't have over the eye it shouldn't be able to use. The Rutan, it seemed, had overstated its knowledge of ants. "Eh, no. Where'd you hear that name?" "I am here to deliver a series of packages from House Paradox on Gallifrey to this station, and my last package is for a Mr. Pegrum. Or Ms. Pegrum, or Mrs. My instructions were not specific with regards to gender or marital status," Sophie bumped her head on the ceiling. "Also, I am considering filing a complaint." "So. We should run?" Zinnia suggested in a whisper "Probably." Genie whispered and began backing away from the ant-jellyfish. Graves started running backwards. "Why don't you give the package to me? I'll make sure it gets it." The ant wound a number of tentacles around the package and up Sophie's arms, and began sending an electric current through her. Zinnia followed their example and began absconding. "Miss... er, 103, are you carrying a blowtorch or industrial welder?" the Doctor asked. "Or infrared blaster? Because something like that would really be helpful" Graves found himself backed up against a door. "Or rocket thrusters?!" "My apologies, sir or madame, but I must ensure that the package is received by Pegrum personally, and that he or she or they signs for it." Sophie opened her mouth, causing a large package to fall out to the ground. The package was poorly wrapped, and shaped like a rocket thruster, and addressed to the Doctor, from House Paradox. Attached to the package was a clipboard. The ant looks down at the package and crushes it underfoot. "Big mistake, not, y'know, unwrapping and firing that. Hell, actually might've worked." The electrical current running through Sophie intensified. Sophie sighed, clearly not enjoying the required exposition. "I must regretfully inform you that, like every TT Capsule, I am a construct of Block Transfer Mathematics, and not especially vulnerable to electricity. Even if my outer plasmic shell is, I have several functioning shield systems in place." "All the same, drop her, or I'll use my sonic device to triplicate the oxidization rate of the thruster's fuel that's coating your foot," said the Doctor. "I'd say that degree of acceleration would turn your appendage into a Roman Candle." "Please, Doctor. We both know that gifts never come with a fuel source," said the Rutan. "I am not aware of the contents of my deliveries, but experience has taught me and my pilot not to second-guess House Paradox," Sophie said. "Besides, I don't think you accounted for the fact that I'm expendable." And with a quick twist, he banged Sophie's head on the ceiling and tossed her through a nearby window, exposing the station to the vacuum of space. "See ya, suckers!" "Crap!" cried Graves. Sophie flew into the room and, opening her mouth/doors, took the Doctor, Zinnia, Graves, and Genie inside to her console room. Sophie adjusted her outer shell to her normal human size. Not that any of her occupants would notice. Sophie might notice, from a distance, that the ant had turned into a large sheet of translucent titanium and affixed itself to where the window had been. "Did...we just get eaten by a human time machine? Gross," said Genie. "Eugh," moaned Graves. "It's not the most obviously impossible geometry I've seen, but I'll never get used to that," said the Doctor. "I apologize, but three of you wouldn't survive for long in a vacuum, and, Doctor, I do not believe my grandmother would be especially pleased by the loss of Her Thief," said Sophie. "I'm going to curl up and shiver," Zinnia reported. "I think I just hit my threshold of 'shit occurring before the day is just a complete wash'." "May I call her here? It wasn't safe there because she's not much for the 'getting up and running from danger' thing, but being in you is less work than staying outside this time frame. What's your name, by the way?" the Doctor asked. Sophie manifested a simulacra of herself in the console room. It was solid, and near as anyone could tell, was identical to her exterior. "My apologies, I believed I had introduced myself already, but I should have known you were busy. My name is Sophie." Sophie winced. "I believe you've experienced a Time Ram before, Doctor? It is not a pleasant experience. Certainly not from our perspective. If you wish, you may materialize grandmother within my architecture, that's what family's for, but I would prefer it if you were to wait until it could be done on safer ground, and I suspect she would as well." Sophie's internal manifestation, paused, as if listening to something only she could hear, and continued. "My pilot is experiencing a rather unpleasant hangover at the present moment, and would greatly prefer not to be disturbed." "Ah, well, if it's that much trouble, never mind. She's safe enough where she is, and you'll have plenty of time to catch up if we survive. Ask these centuries living in a living ship and I still have trouble getting into their heads sometimes," said the Doctor. "Well, this is just great. I'm in an interdimensional portal time machine person...thing, and my ship is stuck on a space station filled with evil jellyfish penismen, and an ever-burning derelict vessel hurtling towards it," Genie put her hands on her hips. "I better get reimbursed for this." Sophie went up to the transparent titanium and tapped on it with her finger. It vibrated slightly. "If we can get to the atmospheric controls on the station, we could raise the temperature to 'blistering summer day' or 'boiler room', to try to at least show them down. But first we have to get back inside," said the Doctor. Zinnia continued to lay on the floor, quivering. It seemed the thing to do. Inside Sophie's console room, she asked, "Very well. Is there anything else I may assist you with?" A blanket materialized around Zinnia, in an attempt to provide comfort and possibly warmth. "I believe I am still inside the space station, although it is likely the doors on either side of this corridor have been sealed to contain the atmospheric breach." Sophie was, in fact, hovering just outside the station. Some of the levers on the console pulled of their own accord, and there was a wheezing, groaning sound. Sophie's pilot's hangover was unlikely to have been improved by it. "Okay, we need to get back in that station and deal with the jellyfish things. By now, the room we were swept out of would be sealed off," said Graves. Sophie rematerialized in the space station's atmospheric control complex. Each console in the room was manned and operational. What readouts could be seen showed that the station was being kept at about -30ºC. She opened her doors, allowing her passengers to disembark. Everyone in the control complex turned and stared as the woman opened up and four people walked out. Immediately, every employee in the room began to grow tentacles. Sophie pulled out her package and clipboard. "Is one of you Pegrum? I have a delivery for Pegrum from House Paradox." "Oh for crying out loud..." said Graves. One of the employees turned to the others. "Wait, how does...whatever that thing is...know the boss?" There's some brief conversational muttering on the matter before they decide, fuck it, let's just attack them. And they do. "Anybody have a light?" the Doctor asks. Genie searches around in her pockets, pulls out a lighter and tries to set the nearest tentacle ablaze. That gets a reaction, and the employee begins flailing around like mad trying to put itself out, knocking into and taking out three others before someone finds the fire extinguisher. Three others decide to go after Genie. "I have changed my mind! I would be okay with boring intern work! Excitement is overrated!" Zinnia cried as she dodged out of the way of all the sudden tentacles, which is one of the worst suddens that could happen to a person. Sophie goes up to the employee that turned to the others. "Excuse me, could you please direct me to your boss?" The Doctor ruffled through his pockets looking for an aerosol can. = Day Twenty-Six = The Doctor turned to Genie, hand open, aerosol can of some description in the other. "Your lighter!" "Oh! Good idea!" Genie threw the lighter and moved to get out of the way. There was a palpable silence amongst the Rutans, followed by a sudden charge for the door. The operators reverted to their default forms and immediately began rushing past the Doctor and his companions, screaming in panic and terror. "Um, is that really a good idea?" Graves looked at the can, getting a feeling of what the Doctor was about to do. Zinnia sat at the main console and began checking to see what the Rutans had been doing. The Doctor let them run. When they'd gone, he returned the lighter to Genie. "The best weapon is the one you don't have to use." "Excuse me? Mr. Pegrum?" Sophie called at the retreating Rutans, clutching her package and clipboard. "Huh. Good bluff. Would have been nice to see more of those jellies light up, though," said Genie. "No kidding. We really need to figure out how to get them out. We can't have them fully taking over the place," said Graves. In addition to drastically turning down the temperature, one section of the ship at a time, they'd also been thinning out the air and gradually cranking back the artificial gravity. Most of these changes were being made in the offices of high-ranking officials and heavily trafficked areas, such as dining halls and docking bays. "I forgot the door was open. I'd hoped to ask them what their game was, but that never works anyway," said the Doctor. "Um, it looks like they were cooling down the station, thinning the air, and reducing the artifical gravity in certain areas of the station," said Zinnia. The Doctor glanced at the monitor. "Ah yes, replacing important people most likely. But to what end?" "I can restore it to normal levels. Or we can adjust the atmosphere to be unpleasant to them, encourage them to clear out," said Zinnia. "Attention crew. This is Robert Bromly," came a voice through a nearby loudspeaker. "It seems we have some special guests on board. A certain...medical professional. It also seems that some of you have attempted to attack him, like morons." "So much for undermining them quietly," said the Doctor. "Is he secretly Pegrum?" Sophie whispered. "While it has no doubt occurred to you that, with all but he and a few select others cleared out, we can proceed as planned, I want to remind you that is quite possibly the worst possible idea," Bromley continued. "Therefore, I'm saying no one is to do anything until our guest has gotten himself and his friends safely away from the station." "How accomodating of him," said Genie. "Again, please halt all operations until our friend has left," Bromley concluded "And to that special guest: we intend no malice towards you or your little friends, and do not condone any violent actions taken against you. Please leave at your convenience. Thank you." "But I'm supposed to give him a package!" Sophie said. "It looks like talking to each other like sensible beings is on the table," said the Doctor. "I really don't think they want to talk. I think they want us to leave. And I'm all for that option," said Genie. "Weren't there other people on this station?" Sophie asked. "They may not want to talk, but I assume they'd rather talk than...have further unpleasantness," said the Doctor. "I know Zygons need the people they're impersonating to stay alive, but I don't think Rutans do," said Sophie. "I don't trust them to talk without attempting to get touchy-feely, to be perfectly honest," Graves said. "Uh, I guess? But why do we need to talk to them? They're already letting us leave," Genie said. "What--and just let them take over the whole place because whatever stupid reason?!" asked Graves. "Because we have no idea what they're actually up to, and if it needs a stop put to it," said the Doctor. "Though it probably does. But there's always the option. What we've seen of the plan so far doesn't make it likely." "I still haven't delivered my package to Pegrum." Sophie said, determined. Graves buried his eyes in his hand. "Damn it, I'm actually missing Earth now..." "Let's assume that Pegrum is Bromley, and go have a chat," the Doctor said. "However, it should be safe to return grandmother to this time-frame now," said Sophie. "Damn it. Fine. I assume you losers will piss them off before I can escape to my ship, so I guess I don't have a choice but to go with you," Genie said. "Uh, before we go to talk to the shapeshifters that probably definitely won't kill us maybe, should I fix the atmospheric levels or try to make it uncomfortable for them?" said Zinnia. "I mean, I have a game of Xangiba running right now but I can close out of that." "Wouldn't that piss them off?" Genie asked. "We should be diplomatic for now," the Doctor decided. "We're gonna wanna fix it, or rather we could have somebody stay here to fix it for now, and make it uncomfortable if they decide to be undiplomatic," said Graves. "Well, I don't exactly relish the idea of negotiating with those things. So I could stay behind if someone can tell me what to do," Genie offered. "No offense, but do you know the controls?" asked Graves. "Not at all," Genie confessed. "I know the controls and I wouldn't be much use in a negotiation. I could stay behind," said Zinnia. "Right. Your name, again?" Graves asked. "Zinnia. Is my name." "Alright, Zinnia. If you feel up to the task, by all means," said Graves. "Should anyone really be left here by themselves?" Sophie inquired. "They might come back." "Simple solution to that. Make the atmosphere uncomfortable right outside all possible entrances to the room," said Graves. "Also, take my aerosol can," the Doctor offered. "And we should have a way to keep in communication in case things go pear shaped." Graves picked up his personal communicator. "Hello." "I could put it on a direct channel to the PA in here, but would there be a way for them to talk back to us?" the Doctor asked. Graves handed the Doctor his communicator. Sophie looked around. "There doesn't seem to be a way for anyone in this room to send messages back." Graves points to the button right next to the intercom speaker, looking deadpan at Sophie. "Right then! With the jiggery-pokery!" The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the communicator and jiggery-poked at it, then did the same with the intercom panel. "Right. Can the environment consoles track life forms in the sections as well?" asked Graves. "If there's one thing I really don't want, it's to be caught off-guard again by them." The consoles cannot, in fact, keep exact tabs on everyone in the complex, because unlike a certain interplanetary government, they don't have a creepy fixation on stalking every single one of their employees so long as they're on board. "Are we off to see the wizard, then?" Genie asked. "I think we're set," replied the Doctor. "Well, let's get this over with, then. Good luck, bird-girl," said Genie. Graves took back his communicator. "I'll let you know when we're clear of this room." "Hang on, is going to be cold and low-G. You may want to keep warm and not-bouncy. Any ideas there?" the Doctor asked. "Like I said earlier, Zinnia's gonna need to set it back to normal for us," Graves reminded him. Sophie opened her doors, like a frame of film caught in a projector, a burning spot expanding into white light as the image was compressed and divided. "My interior is perfectly safe from atmospheric difficulties. I can walk through the unsafe regions and let everyone out when we're at our destination." "Right. We should be off. The sooner we can sort this, the better," said Graves. "If we're gonna be riding inside the timeship lady again, I demand an entire bottle of whiskey first," Genie said. Sophie reached into her internal dimensions, and pulled a large whiskey bottle from the kitchen, handing it out expectantly. "Here you go." "Uh... I guess that works." Genie awkwardly took the whiskey bottle and tried to down as much as she could in one gulp. "Thanks, probably." "That will also help you feel warm," said the Doctor. "Actually, that's not entirely true. Alcohol consumption will increase blood flow to the extremities, but it will also reduce overall core temperature," Sophie pointed out. "Not ideal for a survival scenario. At least, assuming baseline humanoid/mammalian physiology." "I did say feel," the Doctor replied. "I didn't want to mention that it would be at the expense of freezing faster." "Man, whatever. We're going to try and convince some weird phallic jellyfish people to leave a spaceship. I should ask for a whole damn bar. Now how does this work." Genie pulled her hand in and out of Sophie's open doors. "Eh, whatever." Genie threw herself inside Sophie as well. A panel off the side of the main console turned on, revealing it as the scanner, enabling Sophie's occupants a view of the world outside. Zinnia watched them go. Good reason one for her to stay behind is that she could operate the atmospheric controls. Good reason two is that she was not keen on jumping back into that Sophie person. "Alright then." Sophie closed her doors, and left the room. "Where are we going?" "Lemme see if I can remember," said Graves. Sophie continued to walk down the hallway. "Ah yes! Go to the next floor from here," Graves said. "Is there an elevator nearby?" Sophie asked, her interior manifestation appearing directly in front of Graves without warning. Graves looked at the monitor. "Should be one next right, down that hall." Sophie jogged down the hall and took the right in question. "Up or down?" she asked. "Up. Make sure to be careful. No idea what would be in store for us," said Graves. Sophie pressed the button and prepared to wait for the elevator. The elevator came. Sophie stepped through the doors, and pressed the button for the next floor up. The doors opened on the next floor and Sophie stepped into the hallway there. "Where to next, guys?" The Doctor became aware of a sound like sonar. "Pong... Pong... Pong... " Eventually he realized he was making them with his mouth under his breath. "Alright, do you see those big doors straight down the hall?" Graves asked. "Yeah?" Sophie replied. "Ignore them. There's a hall down the left of them," said Graves. "Okay." Sophie headed through the hall to the left of the big, conspicuous doors. Graves switched on his communicator. "Zinnia, how's it looking so far?" "The atmospheric controls?" Zinnia asked. "They're looking fine. Could stand to be dusted more often I guess. The levels are good." "The room ahead of us should be where they're at. How are the levels there?" Graves asked. "I haven't messed with them yet. We didn't want to agitate them, right?" Zinnia replied. "Great. Keep on standby." Switching the communicator back off, Graves noticed that the big doors ahead were getting bigger. "Are the levels fatal for humans? Because my pilot might have some sweaters somewhere," said Sophie. "Diplomacy will likely be better the less agitated and uncomfortable they are." "I dunno, but we should probably get out before we go in there. Might hurt our position a bit if we come walking out of some human lady's mouth," Genie said. "Less oxygen, colder temperature, less gravity...no, should be totally fine," Graves said, his voice giving off a sarcastic tone he wasn't sure the ship-lady would pick up on. "Not necessarily my mouth. How you perceive entering my interior dimensions depends on a variety of factors." Sophie paused. "So I should get the sweaters?" "Yes... And breathing aids," said Graves. "How much oxygen do humans need?" Sophie asked. "I apologize. I'm half human on my mother's side, but am regretfully unaware of my cultural heritage." "I haven't taken a chemistry class since high school, so I couldn't tell you," said Graves. "Also I would ask how that even works, but we're running short on time." Half of the console room disappeared and was replaced with half of a relatively large wardrobe room, with a set of properly sized regulation sweaters and breathing masks with the delivery company logo on them sitting out the frontmost rack. "Right..." Graves put on his sweater and fitted his mask, then switched his communicator on. "Zinnia, am I coming in clear?" "Hello," replied Zinnia. "Alright, good. We're about to make way. Be prepared." Graves kept his communicator on, and hung it on his side. "Everyone else ready?" "Please standby to disembark," said Sophie. Genie picked out a suitably garish sweater and put it over her already heavy coat, fitting the mask aroung her head. "Ready." "Doctor?" Graves asked. "Onward," the Doctor replied. Sophie knocked on the office doors. "Come in," said Bromely's voice through the door. "You look the diplomatic type. You lead, Doctor," said Graves. Sophie opened the door to the office, and then opened the doors to herself, allowing her passengers to exit. The Doctor strode out of Sophie into the office. Graves and Genie followed close behind. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and I'd like a word," the Doctor said. Bromley tried to hide his shock and failed miserably, his eyes going wide. "I'll admit, you're not quite what I was expecting. Any particular reason you're not on your way?" "Since you extended me the courtesy of an opportunity to leave you in peace, I thought I'd pay you a visit to give you an opportunity to tell me what you'll do with that peace," the Doctor said. "We'll proceed according to plan." Bromley rolled back in his chair a bit. "And please, don't insult me by asking what that plan is." "Not like we need to ask. You plan on doing away with us and taking the station for yourselves," said Graves. "Give me a reason why I should be okay with that plan," the Doctor said. "Oh, yes, that's certainly part of it. But as for why you should be okay with the rest--really, it doesn't matter whether you are or not. I gave you the opportunity to leave because I was advised to by our green friends, but honestly? I see no way you could possibly sabotage it if I just went ahead. So I suggest you take the opportunity while you can," said Bromley. "For the record, I don't really care if you take the station. So, uh, if these guys make you mad, I'll just go and not bother you. Cool?" asked Genie. Sophie retrieved her package and clipboard then shut her doors again. "I have a delivery for a Mr. Pegrum from House Paradox. Are you Mr. Pegrum, sir?" Bromley turned to Sophie. "I'm not, that would be my superior--in every sense of the word, honestly. Apologies." "Can you please tell me where I may find Pegrum so I may deliver this package to him?" Sophie asked. "If I knew, I...still wouldn't. For obvious reasons," Bromley replied. "She's not really with me. She's tagging along to get that package delivered. I'm honestly a bit curious about what's in it," the Doctor said. "I'm guessing drugs." Genie attempted to drink the rest of the whiskey through her mask and spilled some on her sweater. "That's none of my concern. All I need is for you to leave, all of you, so we can get on with it," said Bromley. "Right. Zinnia, you catch all of that?" Graves asked. "I caught it all," said Zinnia. "Make it comfortable." Zinnia adjusted the atmospheric settings for the meeting room. Comfort was subjective. "Oh, yes. That's much better," Bromley said, taking a deep breath. "Thank you." "Apologies, I believed you were all aware that Mr. Bromley was human," said Sophie. "Of course! Well, since we turned up your heater, maybe you can give us what we want as payment?" Genie smiled at Bromley. Bromley smiled serenely. "I don't think so. It won't matter for much longer." Genie paused. "That's bad, isn't it?" "That's a matter of perspective," Bromley said. "Why are you working with them, sir?" Graves asked. "Have you ever commanded a space station, Mr. Graves? If you had I think you'd understand my reasons perfectly," said Bromley. "Well, I joint-commanded an outpost attacked by giant ants. That count?" Graves asked. "Look, I'm just saying, these green guys are pretty gross. I'm sure you could have taken it over without them, at least," said Genie. "I don't think so, no," Bromley said. "I hear my great-aunt Lolita's pilot does freelance work for this sort of thing," offered Sophie. "Oh, I already had! I am the commanding officer here, after all. No, I don't want to take it over. I wanted them to take it over. To kill every petty officer, every gawking tourist, every damn being alive on this station!" Bromley exclaimed. "Even the interns?" Zinnia asked. "To finally put an end to fifteen years of being bitched at, of having to fill out duty rosters and paperwork and attending staff meetings! To finally put every fucking being who thinks they deserve a cut of my time out of my damn misery!" Bromley exclaimed. "And you couldn't have put in a request for leave or replacement because...?" Graves asked. "Madmen generally don't like their madness questioned," said the Doctor. "And you know what they're going to do once they're done?! They're gonna blow it to smitheroons, use it to blast a hole in the planet below, so I never have to see this worthless hunk of metal again for the rest of my life!" "Again, I believe the Master is slightly easier to work with for this sort of thing." Sophie glanced at the Doctor and shrugged. "He had us deliver some flyers." "Right." Graves took off his sweater. "Zinnia? Make it uncomfortable. This isn't gonna be pretty." Bromley took a deep breath and sat back down, the smile returning to his face. "Oh dear. I appear to have given away the game. Ah well. Doesn't matter now, really. The second you leave the detonations will start." Zinnia cut off the gravity. "You terrestial types are very uncomfortable with not being planted to the ground, right?" "Oh. We're doing that, then? Um, sir, could you at least let me leave first?" Genie said as she struggled to get the sweater off of her head. "Oh dear. So that's what those packages the Faction wanted me to pick up were. How rude," Sophie said. "Pickup?" the Doctor asked. Bromely began to hover. "Oh my. Floating. How terrifying." "Indeed," said Graves. "What was this supposed to do again?" Genie asked. "And I suppose if I decide to stay and attempt to disarm the explosives, you'll just press the button anyway," the Doctor said. "Of course! Really, Doctor, it's not me who values your life. Honestly I'd just as soon see you dead, what with how difficult you're making things for me. No, my superiors simply want to keep you alive. You are, apparently, far more dangerous in harm's way.' Sophie remained on the floor, then, noticing what everyone else was doing, lifted herself off the ground as a show of solidarity. Graves launched himself off of the nearest wall, towards the nutcase, in a tackle form. Bromley hit the far wall with a resounding smack and a mild clicking noise. "Oh Graves. How satisfying you've made this for me, hoisting yourself by your own petard. You see, the button was in my back pocket." The sound of explosions could be heard from a distance, and the room began to tilt. "Great!" Genie began air-swimming frantically towards the door. Graves reacted with an expression of anger and quickly reached behind Bromley, grabbing the button out of the pocket and flinging it to the Doctor. "Stop them!" He socked Bromley in the gut with his free hand. "Oh, I'm afraid there's no way to reverse it. Or pleased--*oof!*--rather," Bromley said as he was punched. The Doctor sonicked frantically, not expecting much. "I can do a lot of things, but I can't unpress a button." "Can't you change its programming?! Make it so that pressing it can shut off the signal?!" Graves asked. "There's a signal?" asked Sophie. "There was only one signal! The rest is a simple chain reaction. Unless you can unexplode the first compartment, but that seems unlikely," said Bromley. "You can't stop the signal. Not once it's sent. Sophie, we need to get inside and pick up our friends!" said the Doctor. "Zinnia! Gravity on! Now!" Graves shouted. Sophie opened her doors, and flew to grab the Doctor, Genie, and Graves, then shut her doors, dematerialized, rematerializing around Zinnia a moment later, depositing the Alkonist in her console room. "But the gravity!" Zinnia replied. "Okay, unless we have any way to pinpoint survivors on the station, it's a lost cause. We need to get it safely away from the planet before it crashes," said the Doctor. The explosions drew nearer. "Yes! Yes! End it! End my suffering!" Bromley cried. And they did. The entire station quickly began to crumble around Sophie and lose orbit, winding its way down to the planet below as the Rutan sun ship disappeared into the distance. "Oh son of a bitch! Great. I'm never getting my ship back. The guy I stole it from spent his entire life savings on it! Probably!" Genie exclaimed. "Any ideas? Sophie? Doctor?" Graves asked. "Ideas for what? The station and whatever backwater planet it was over are pretty much screwed," said Genie. The Doctor went to Sophie's door, screwdriver at the ready. "I'm going to use my TARDIS to pull the biggest pieces I can grab safely away. Could use some help at the controls." "I have a tractor beam, as does my grandmother. But hers needs six people to operate, and I need my pilot for mine." "Oh, and an airshield." The Doctor opened the door, held the screwdriver out, and summoned his TARDIS. Sophie's air shield was already active. It usually is when her doors are open in space. The TARDIS materialized just outside, doors open ready to receive her thief and whatever strays he'd picked up this time. There were sure to be at least two. "Towing is best done with six, but I think I can take two or three stations, if somebody else can handle two as well. I normally handle all six," said the Doctor. "Keeping my doors open like this isn't comfortable, could you go into the other TARDIS pretty please?" Sophie asked. "I mean, you've been complaining about how I look all day." "Going." The Doctor stepped across. "Mind the gap, you lot." "Wait, you have one too? Where do I get one of these things? Do they come in male?" Genie followed The Doctor. Sophie sighed. The Rutan ship was getting away, and she still had to deliver her package. "If you lot don't start getting out, I'm going to start forcibly ejecting you." "Right!" Graves hopped across. "Yeah, don't want to be forcibly." Zinnia crosses. "Sophie, do what you need to do. We'll clean up here," said the Doctor. Sophie closed her doors, then wrapped her arms around the side of the blue box, and gave the light on top a small kiss. "It was nice to meet you, grandma." The TARDIS let out a low groan in return. There was a wheezing, groaning noise, and then Sophie was gone, chasing after the Rutan sun ship. "Everybody around this side of the console," said the Doctor. Graves moved to position. "Time to save what's left." The Doctor explained what needed to be done at that station in terms of moving doodly bits and keeping whatsits on target. Genie followed orders, seeing as she had nothing better to do. "Should have run when I had the chance," she grumbled. The Doctor briefly described the wibbles and whatnots there. "Zinnia, can you handle the red functions here as well as the fripperators next to them?" "As long as I don't have to repeat what they're called," said Zinnia. "And then I'll take the other half of the console. The wingdings, the claptraps, and the fandangles," the Doctor said. "You're making this all up, aren't you?" Genie asked. "It doesn't matter what they're called as long as it works," explained the Doctor. "You heard the man! Push and pull!" said Graves. "Largest pieces first. Throw them at a sun or an asteroid belt, whichever's handier," said the Doctor. "And what about the survivors?!" Graves asked. "They were probably all jellyfish in disguise," Genie said. Gradually, the TARDIS began to tear the station end from end, sending pieces hurtling past the planet Trog and into Trog's sun, which was also Trog. (The people of Trog weren't big on names and had largely done this at the behest of cartographers from neighboring systems.) "Okay, that's not fair--I wasn't one and neither was that guy!" said Graves. "Nor was I! But everyone else seemed to disappear as soon as the jellyfish showed up, so, y'know," Genie pointed out. "Besides, none of them had anything valuable." "It takes a long time to get to the sun. And a few minutes for the vacuum to catch up with you. If we save the planet fast enough, we might find people," said the Doctor. After some time, the station had been almost entirely dismantled, leaving a small handful of debris to burn up in the atmosphere. Planet Trog was saved. "And scanning the wreckage," said the Doctor as he did so. "I'm seeing scattered Rutan life signs, but nobody else." "Told ya so!" exclaimed Genie. "Is my ship there? Please tell me my ship's there." It was, somehow, miraculously, having slid out of the docking bay when it had been disconnected from artificial gravity, and was now somehow maintaining a stable orbit. Privately the TARDIS congratulated herself on having managed to expand the shields that far without anyone noticing. Slowly, the TARDIS shrunk the shields, slowly pulling Genie's ship up towards her. "Yes!" Genie pumped her fist and kissed the TARDIS's main console, then thought about what she'd just done. "That was kinda weird." Graves shrugged. "I've seen weirder." He paused. "Oh lord...A thought just occurred to me. I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to my superiors at UNIT." "I wonder if Sophie made her delivery," the Doctor wondered. "Honestly, who can say?" Graves asked. And so ended a very long day. The Doctor, Zinnia, Genie and Graves sat around, watching the visual spectical as the tiny bits of spacecraft burst and burned in Trog's atmosphere, until they got tired and headed off to bed.